Life After Death/Issue 29
Brie sat on the ground and leaned against the back of the RV as she stared into the dim sky. It was getting colder every day as winter drew near. Eric saw her sulking, and came up beside her. "You alright, Brie?" he asked. "I'll be fine," she replied. "I just need a little time to get over this." "Yeah, I know what you mean." "This whole thing...having some madman come in and shoot Gregory...it really reminds me of when Alvin killed my dad. The funeral we had for him...nobody said anything. It was depressing...did you guys really hate him that much?" Eric took a moment to reply. "We had our differences...you know that. But...I know he cared a lot about you, and that's really all that matters." Morgan walked up to the two with some bowls of food. "Hey," she said. "Rachel and I cooked some food up, thought we could all use some after everything..." The two took the bowls and thanked her as she started to walk away. "Oh, uh, Morgan," Eric called out. "I think Andre's at the graves if you wanted to bring him some." "Alright, will do, thanks." Morgan went back to the RV and got another bowl of food from Rachel, and started walking out into the field. She saw Andre, who was sitting cross-legged in front of Gregory's grave. She walked up to him, and held the bowl out in front of him. He grabbed it, and set it down beside him. "Thanks..." he said quietly. "You're welcome," Morgan replied. "Are you alright?" "No. Gregory was a great guy, and I wish I got to know him a little better before he died. I was hard on him at times, and I wish I could go back and take it all back, you know?" "I know what you mean, I felt the same way when my mom died a few years ago. I was a bitch to her for years, and then suddenly, she...she was just gone. I never even got to say goodbye." "I'm sorry." "Don't be. I got over it." "The worst part about all this is that I didn't even try to save him. When those bandits pulled their guns out, I jumped behind that RV and just sat there. That's not like me. I just...froze up. I should have been on the field...with a gun. I'm never gonna forgive myself for this." "You're not the only one who didn't return fire. I didn't...Brie, Devon, Rachel...none of them did. Besides, we had all those people shooting and we still lost two people. You being out there probably wouldn't have made a difference. You just risk getting shot." "Yeah, I guess. Thanks." ---- Dolph was sitting in a chair, looking out beyond the fence and into the distance, his back to the graves. He sat in silence, until Ryan walked up beside him. "Some fucking day," Ryan said with a sigh. "Yup," Dolph replied. "You know, I talked to Ike, and he said that...after all that's happened...after everything you guys have done for us...he trusts you and he's willing to let you guys stay with us." "Alright. I'm not the one you should be telling, Eric's our leader." "You seemed to be worried about being here, so I figured I'd tell you first. Let you know that you can stay if you wanna." "I don't want to stay, I want to leave. Don't you understand that? Fuck, how many times do I have to say this? That horde is on it's god damn way, and we're just sitting here. If we had left when I said we should, Gregory and Matt would still be alive." "Hey, don't fucking blame that on us; Ike's the one who lied to everyone. He's the one who took us out there looking for those bandits while they were back here, shooting our people here. He fucked up, that ain't anyone else's fault." "I've been saying this since before he took us out there, and I've been saying it to more than just him. Gregory, Rachel, Eric, Andre; all of them. Nobody fucking listened, and now look at what happened!" "It's not that easy to just pack up camp and leave whenever the fuck someone decides he don't like the place we're at. We checked all around this place, there was nowhere else to go." "Then we keep looking. All that gunfire...they ought to be here soon." ---- Morgan and Rachel sat on chairs beside the fire as the soup slowly continued to boil above the fire. "So, how's Ike handling things?" Morgan asked. "What do you mean?" Rachel said, confused. "Well, I know he blames himself for everything that happened. I was just wondering how he's really taking it." "He...he broke down. Came into the RV and...said that it should have been him who died. Then he just collapsed and started crying. I think he's still in there." "Damn. I didn't think it'd be that hard on him." "I've never seen him like this...it's kind of frightening. He thinks everyone hates him." "Well, that's wrong. He made a mistake, sure, but...it's not like he meant to get people killed. It's not like he knew that this would happen." "I guess you're right...I just can't help but feel like I'm sort of to blame for his break down. I've been so hard on him for this...I didn't realize how he really felt." "You should let him know that, it's something he needs to hear." "Yeah, you're right, I'll tell him next time I see him. Thank you, Morgan." ---- A while later, Penny and Kumar started walking to the other side of the RV with piles of dirty bowls to wash them. "Are you gonna be good for washing?" Kumar asked. "You know, with your arm." "Yeah, I think so. It only skimmed it, luckily, and it doesn't hurt that much any-" Penny trailed off as she walked around and stared at the fence. Starting to reach the top of the hill was a large horde of zombies. "Shit!" Penny yelled as she dropped the bowls. "Fuck, can you grab these for me? I need to warn the others." "Yeah, you just go." Penny bolted around the RV, and nearly slammed into Rachel. "Rachel, oh thank god!" "What?" Rachel asked, confused. "What is it?" "The biters...they're here." "You're joking." "No, they're just starting to get over the hill." "Maybe we can take them." "There's hundreds." Dolph and Ryan walked up beside the two. "What's going on?" Ryan asked. "The horde found us." Rachel responded. "Fucking told you," Dolph said. "Where's it coming from?" "The other side of the RV." "You got guns?" "Yeah." "Grab 'em. We'll hold them off so everyone can pack up." ---- Dolph and Ryan ran around the side of the RV, each armed with a pistol. They took aim, and started firing at the rotters, who were starting to break down the fence. Devon and Emily came running out of the tent once they heard the shots and approached Bart. "What the hell's going on?" Devon asked. "Rachel said the biters caught up to us," Bart replied in a worried tone. "Oh god," Emily said as she started to pace around. "That horde...there were so many; no way we'll be able to take it on." Ike stepped out of the RV as Owen ran up to him and hugged his legs. "What's going on, dad?" "I...I don't know," Ike replied as Rachel ran up to him. "We gotta pack up," Rachel said while panicking. "There are biters at the fences." "Oh shit...alright, just...grab whatever we can and bring it into the RV." "We're not gonna be able to fit everyone in there." "We're going to have to. Come on." The shots fired as Ryan and Dolph ran out of ammo. "Fuck," Dolph said. "Well, we better get the hell out of here before they get any closer." Dolph and Ryan ran back around the RV as the fence finally collapsed, and the rotters started spilling into the field. Most of the stuff had been put inside the RV, save for a few backpacks full of essential supplies, such as cans of food, water, a few bullets, and some thin blankets. The group wa finishing taking down the tents, when Ike looked across at the RV, and saw rotters starting to surround it. Ike walked toward the RV a bit, and then stopped. He stood still, staring at the rotters. Rachel saw this, and walked up to him. "Oh, shit...the RV. God damn it. We're gonna have to go on foot." Ignoring Rachel, Ike just continued to stand there. "Ike? Are you okay?" Ike just continued to stand there. "Rachel!" Dolph called out. "We need to go, now!." "Ike...please, come on." Ike placed his hand on his sword, and tilted his head slightly toward Rachel. "Don't wait for me." In an instant, Ike pulled the sword out of his sheath, and started marching toward horde. Credits * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Deaths *None